Hunting, whistle-blowing, foie gras among issues

Tough battles are expected to break out over animal protection legislation pending in the state Capitol.

Several measures will renew old rivalries over lead ammunition to shoot game, using hounds to hunt bears, selling animals at swap meets and force-feeding ducks and geese to produce a delicacy known as foie gras.

Meanwhile, animal welfare advocates are concerned about legislation they say is part of a nationwide campaign to muzzle whistle-blowers who surreptitiously record animal cruelty at livestock farms. Supporters say the measure will simply speed up reporting so that abuse can be quickly stopped.

For pet owners, there is at least one bill with pocketbook implications. It would end the sales tax on medicines administered and prescribed by veterinarians.

Animal welfare bills can lead to some of the most sharp divisions in the Legislature, and this year is shaping up to be no exception.

“People care passionately about issues involving animals,” said San Diego Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, the only Republican to join what’s informally known as the Legislative Animal Protection Caucus for lawmakers.

“I love animals. I care about how they are treated,” Maienschein said. “It’s important for me to influence policy to make sure the animals in California are cared for and protected,”

Maienschein is listed as a co-author of the controversial whistle-blower measure. On Friday his staff said he is reviewing his early support in the wake of new amendments that has drawn sharp criticism from animal rights advocates.

Here is a look at some of the major measures:

• Ammunition ban: Assembly Bill 711 would outlaw lead ammunition when hunting game anywhere in the state after July 1, 2016. It would build on a similar prohibition enacted in 2008 for condor ranges. A 1991 federal law bans the use of lead shot in hunting waterfowl.

Ban supporters argue that rare condors and other raptors can suffer lead poisoning when they feed on the carcass left behind by hunters who usually dress the animal in the field.

“We have taken lead out of gasoline, paint and pipes,” said Jennifer Fearing, California director of the Humane Society of the United States. “There is no good reason to allow the dispersal of a known toxin into the environment. Ethical hunters get that.”

Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Woodland, a hunter who calls the argument “specious,” contends the animal activists have an ulterior motive.

“This is just another attempt to get rid of hunting in California,” Nielsen said. “It’s not about poisoning animals with lead.”

The main alternative is copper-based ammunition, but those bullets can be more expensive.

• Whistle-blowers and animal cruelty: Assembly Bill 343 would require that whistle-blowers report animal cruelty at livestock processing plants and turn over any evidence to authorities within 48 hours. They would also be encouraged, but not required, to submit the findings immediately to the owners.

Patterson said a reporting requirement would help stop the abuse quickly. “It is intended to do precisely what those who want to end cruelty wish to have happen, which, if they are serious about it, is to end it as quickly as possible,” he said.